15 Things We Hope To See On Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 9

Back in 2015, at the Television Critics Association, Jeff Garlin reacted enthusiastically towards another season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and even prophesied a 51% chance of Larry David signing on.

“Larry David is so goddamned rich he doesn’t have to do anything unless it’s good,” Garlin joked. Flash forward to 2017, and Larry David has announced that season 9 can (and will) be a thing as soon as October 1st.

So far, we’ve enjoyed eight awesome seasons of Larry’s ups and downs. L.D., who plays an exaggerated version of his authentic self on the show, revealed that he is going in for the ninth season for a reason we might not immediately expect from the comedy legend.

David said (via The Hollywood Reporter), “I don’t really miss things, people that much, but I was missing it and I was missing these idiots so I thought, ‘Yeah, what the hell?’ And I got tired of people asking is the show coming back? I couldn’t get asked that question anymore and I wasn’t ready to say no, never.”

From what we already know, season 9 will be a natural yet significant time jump from former seasons, rather than picking up right where it left off. The newest season will show exactly what the characters have been up to, as well as some unexpected storylines.

15.Meta Humor

Larry David is known for making use of real life scenarios and turning them into art. In 2007, Larry and his then wife, Laurie, got divorced, which he integrated into Curb in seasons seven and eight. It has been said by co-star Susie Essman that Larry works on a very deeply unconscious level that even isn’t even aware of. The entire concept of Curb, in fact, is known for its self-reflective meta humor that explores an exaggerated version of David’s real life persona, and at times, vicariously through Seinfeld (and jokes about the jokes on Seinfeld).

We know that Larry has been in production for Curb Your Enthusiasm season 9. That being said, will season 9 be self-reflective in the sense that it reflects Larry’s day-to-day showbiz life? We can’t wait to find out, and hope to see Larry taking it to the next level of meta humor in instances where he is perhaps aware of Curb Your Enthusiasm in some aspect, or working on something brand new.

14.Improvisation

Curb Your Enthusiasm became a hit with audiences with much credit due to its mostly improvised format. David has stated that he wrote “rough outlines” for the episodes, only to allow the actors to fill in the rest on the spot. “I write the scenes where we know everything that’s going to happen,” David told NPR. “There’s an outline of about seven or eight pages, and then we improvise it.”

One of the show’s directors explained that there is some rough camera blocking that goes down before the shooting actually begins – this allows for extra time for the actors to get the hang of the dialogue and start feeling comfortable before the cameras even begin rolling. A majority of the attraction that comes with Curb Your Enthusiasm is truly behind the scenes, the magic that comes alive through improvised scenes and spur-of-the-moment dialogue that isn’t at all scripted.

“Here’s the thing on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm‘ and this has happened for years,” said Garlin, who plays a version of himself on Curb, “Larry and I will be getting ready to start a scene. Cameras are rolling. And I look at him and he looks at me and we have no idea what the scene’s about. Not a clue.

13.Jeff

During a Paley Center panel with the cast of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jeff Garlin – Larry’s right hand on the show – claimed that Larry coerced him to star alongside him and produce the show despite his different feelings towards the role. We love Jeff, and we think Larry David had only the best intentions with the fictional world of Hollywood in mind, but Jeff had a wildly different take on the character: “He’s an idiot. He’s not a good guy. He wants to get laid constantly, by anyone, any time. He wants to please his clients. That’s all he works on … I’m a decent guy so there’s some niceness underneath. I have no respect for this guy. He’s a buffoon, that’s all.”

But what we love about Jeff is that he really is a good guy, at least in our opinion. He’s relatable and puts up with a lot from not only Larry, but his wife, Susie (don’t tell her we said that). The lengths that Larry and Jeff go through to cover up each other’s lies is epic, to say the least, and keeps their friendship hilariously fun. We can’t wait to see the tricks Larry and Jeff have up their sleeves for Season 9.

12.Susie

“Get the f*ck out of my house, I don’t want you here, be gone with you! If [Jeff’s] banned, then you’re banned!”

Essman’s character, Susie Greene, is one of the funniest characters to watch on Curb Your Enthusiasm. She’s witty, foul-mouthed, and a spitfire when it comes to telling Larry (and Jeff) who’s boss. Essman once told an audience how fans will constantly ask to be berated by her in character. And later, in an interview with Esquire, Essman even said, “People are visibly disappointed that when they meet me I’m not this screaming, yelling crazy person.”

Aside from David, Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, JB Smoove (Leon), and Cheryl Hines, who will be making a comeback to reprise their roles, we can also look forward to seeing Richard Lewis, Bob Einstein, Ted Danson, and Mary Steenburgen who will also make their return to Curb Season 9.

11.Leon

It’s easy to understand how Leon, played by JB Smoove, became such a prominent figure in the Curb universe, even after the Blacks left Beverly Hills. Leon fits in so well, and works so smoothly alongside Larry, that you can’t help but love him riding along with L.D. In the carpool lane. In “The Anonymous Donor” Leon grants himself classic status with his ridiculous mispronunciation of the word “ejaculate” not to mention the many other Leon-isms such as, “Did you bring it? Did you do the dizzle on her? Bring the ruckus to that ass, Larry!”

We love Leon so much because of his somewhat unlikely (but awesome) friendship with Larry. Larry confides in Leon and trusts him with trade secrets, personal dilemmas, and a slew of other daily ongoings in his life. Even though Jeff is Larry’s right-hand man, Leon comes in at a close and special second, and without the threat of the looming, loud-mouthed wife.

In a 2016 interview with Complex, Smoove assured us that “we got a few episodes already in” for season 9. Then, last December, the crew were spotted filming around Los Angeles.

10.Bachelor Larry

Larry David has said that he didn’t want his TV marriage to be “too happy” which is clear to see after the end of season eight. This idea of Larry keeping it real falls back onto the show’s entire premise of it being meta and reflecting life. We love this element of the show because it makes the storylines so relatable and realistic, even though Larry is a multi-millionaire with a star-studded mansion in Beverly Hills.

“I want people to think we’re happy, but not that happy,” David said during The Paley Center cast Q&A. “I don’t want to see anybody that happy, because it makes me a little sick. I’m trying to strike the balance that you believe the marriage, that they really like each other, but he’s really not that happy.”

Larry has openly stated that his on-screen marriage and real-life marriage began to replicate each other over time, too. As heartbroken as we were to see the David marriage fall apart in real life, single Larry is most likely the best decision the series has made so far – that, and keeping Leon as Larry’s go-to wingman for personal matters. As we’ve seen before, Bachelor Larry has been able to be free in his romantic endeavors no matter how awkward they are.

9.Insane Storylines

From what we already know about Season 9, Larry is gearing up to introduce a new element that we have not seen before. It’s fresh, it’s new, and we can’t wait to find out what tricks he has up his sleeves for episodes and the season arc, overall. As we have seen before, Larry has wowed us over and over again with his antics and the cast of characters in his life, but this time, we’re looking forward to an even more unexpected, zany storyline.

Jeff Garlin told Peter Travers: “It’s coming back with all the things about it that people love, but it’s not following any big formula. The storyline is rather insane. Like people are gonna go, ‘I can’t believe they’re doing this!’ That’s what they’re gonna say. And I don’t often think that with our show.”

8.Larry David Quotables

If there’s anything Larry is known for on Curb, it’s pissing everyone off – from his neighbors, to his best friend’s wife, to his own wife – Larry has his share of hate mail. What makes Larry David (the character) so funny is that he’s constantly pointing out the truth no matter what the expense – and usually at others’ expense.

While he does try, perhaps not very hard, Larry is respectful of social graces most of the time, but that doesn’t mean he’s not totally easy to read. Larry tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve and doesn’t mind vocalizing his opinions – thank God. If it weren’t for Larry who would we have to thank for quips and one-liners like, “pretty, pretty good?” Larry has become an icon through his work on Seinfeld, no doubt, but Curb Your Enthusiasm is the icing on the cynicism cake of life.

7.Complete And Total Narcissism

When it comes right down to it, Larry David is self-serving. But aren’t we all? Larry defines what it is to be a human, albeit a huge curmudgeon with no real reason to bitch about petty things, it’s just his nature. It is clear to us that Larry’s motivations are absolutely, positively ego-driven, and Larry isn’t really ashamed to admit that.

Throughout the entirety of the show, Larry displays narcissistic character traits to a T. In the episode where Jeff’s infidelity “occurred,” Larry clearly showed his disregard for someone else’s mourning. To further his self-interested ways, Larry has a way of sharing these personal stories to his own benefit, which often comes back to bite him in the ass. Larry is the pinnacle of the term “dramatic irony” as he continuously sets himself up for failure, never learning from poking the bear.

6.Political Incorrectness

Religious, sexist, and even a touch of political humor, Curb Your Enthusiasm delivers political incorrectness in a way that is sure to offend anyone and everyone – especially if you take it too seriously. What makes Curb so great is that the tropes and stereotypes involved are being poked fun at because they are so overused in film and television.

Larry is known for stating what’s on his mind so if it comes off as politically incorrect, that’s just Larry; nothing and no one are safe from his incisive thought process. In this day and age, we hope to see more of that, as humor has been twisted in such a way to not offend anyone since season eight of Curb. The world has changed, and so has Larry. We’re really looking forward to seeing how Larry deals with the current political climate, too, but more so, the day-to-day interactions and approachability that was already quite a challenge for David’s character.

5.Celebrity Appearances

Larry and Rosie O’Donnell were notoriously paired against each other in the episode where they battle to win a bisexual woman’s affections. In that same episode, Leon suggests that Larry go head to head with Rosie on her intimate knowledge of the female pleasure portal. In addition to Rosie, we’ve seen Ben Stiller, Shaq, Wanda Sykes, the cast of Seinfeld, and even Michael J. Fox, among many others, make an appearance on the show.

“Everybody that we hoped for and that we wanted, we got,” executive producer and director Jeff Schaffer said. “We had written some episodes that were really dependent on some very key people and we wrote them before we had them. It ended up working out great.”

4.Off-Color Humor

For people who just didn’t get Curb, or deemed it “too slow,” “dry,” or (gasp) “boring,” you might show them the notorious episode, “Krazee-Eyez Killa.” This episode is truly laugh out loud funny from beginning to end, mainly because the featured guest rapper is one of Larry’s best characters to date. When Larry isn’t off talking about cunnilingus or receiving the most straightforward Cribs tour ever with Krazee, we’re also witness to one of Susie’s more ramped-up epic rants when Larry refuses to give her a tour.

Larry continues to crack us up with his truthful notations as well as his inability to care for bullsh*t. This of course lends itself to Larry’s overall disposition, tone, and sense of humor that is oh-so-relatable. But it isn’t just Larry. We’re getting several doses of comedy across the board from Larry, to Jeff, Leon, and of course, Susie.

3.Larry In A New environment

We’ve seen Larry with Cheryl in their Beverly Hills home, we’ve seen Larry out and about in LA in general, attending Dodgers games with Leon and using the carpool lane, but we haven’t really seen Larry back in his home element of New York City. Larry has been through two homes in Los Angeles with both Cheryl, and Vivica A. Fox as Loretta Black.

Knowing that Larry tends to build off of real-life experiences, we can only wonder if season nine will continue in the same fashion as its previous seasons, perhaps touching on an entertainment-industry production aspect relating to the show itself. Perhaps Larry will score himself a new home or hangout, outside of the notorious golf course. Regardless, we’d love to see Larry out and about just being Larry, either way!

2.Larry Taking On The Current Trends

We’ve seen Larry take on the TiVo Guy, but what we haven’t seen is Larry taking on subjects like Snapchat, holograms, or Facebook Live. As we have seen so many times before, Larry has put himself in the craziest situations, such as courting a wheelchair-bound date, whom he calls “Denise Handicap” in his cellphone, only to later pick up another gal-pal, “Wendy Wheelchair, ”by chance (or so he says). This not only touches on the type of humor Larry puts forward, but ingeniously captures the technology of smart phones for the time.

This season, we’re looking forward to the current trends and how Larry deals with them in the face of, well, being Larry, despite any other odds he may be up against. Technology and Larry are an oil and water mix we can never get enough of. Though he can accept such things into his life, Larry never seems to fully understand their capabilities which can definitely set the tone for petty troubles in the not too distant future.

1.Larry Living His Best Life

Will he be single? Meet a new love interest? Cross off items on his to-do list “Bucket List” style? Aside from Larry’s many squabbles, he also has plenty of friends, specifically in the industry. We look forward to seeing his old friends and acquaintances make reappearances, as well as new friends he might meet along the way. No matter where he goes or who he’s with, Larry tends to see the realistic truth about life, which doesn’t necessarily make him a pessimist but really, a romantic, deep down.

After eight successful seasons Larry deserves to get back on stage and enjoy his favorite happy-place, doing stand-up. Perhaps Larry will attempt to relaunch his comedy career, or even take on a new apprentice, but either way, we’re sticking along for the ride. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Curb Your Enthusiasm season nine on HBO this fall.